ever since the return from vacation work has been eating up all of my mental energy. sorry that I’ve been selfish and not wanting to burden y’all with my whining. I mean, this is tedious enough writing a sorry excuse for not writing more often.

there hasn’t been much knitting going on either, which I’m sure doesn’t contribute to my overall sense of not-so-well-being. good thing WonderMike and Anthony are 2/3 of the podcast, or I would have dropped the ball on that as well.

I wish I could say there was a light at the end of the tunnel, but there isn’t in the near future. I just gotta find/make the time to get back in it and return to my jolly ol’ self; and that includes knitting, taking pictures, writing (email, letters and posts), reading, cooking, working out, and (imagine!) seeing friends in real life.

starting in September, I will have 8 weeks off of work, so then I’ll have no excuse NOT to dust off ye olde blogg. I don’t have any firm plans, yet, so suggestions are always welcome. A smidge of travel, interning at a local fiber business, hammering out a few designs, stretching my art muscles, and running away to join the circus are all being considered.

I just worked out with a new trainer here. (You knew we had a gym here, right?) It was the first time I’ve exerted myself more than resisting a certain French bulldog’s tugging at the leash since Labor day. That was my last run. And I haven’t swum in, um, forever. So much for Run-a-go-go, eh?

A two or so mile warm-up on the treadmill and a series of stability ball squats and lunges and core stabalizations and planks and some bi- and triceps thrown in for good measure. I can only imagine how I’m going to feel tomorrow. A surefire way to make it hurt less would be to get out and go for a little 3-mile jaunt with the ol’ iPod at 7am. The stress of my workday usually keeps me from making time for a workout. But, as I’ve said before, these are the times I need it most. And tomorrow, I’ll need it mentally AND physically.

I was hoping to make this year my return to a healthy relationship with running. No longer content with just swimming, I wouldn’t mind getting out in the the fresh air and beating the pavement with my own two feet. Not that I want to return to mega-mileage races, I wouldn’t mind making it a natural part of my life.

All though I eek’ed in 100 miles (counting dog walks) in Round 1, I haven’t made it even halfway in either Round 2 or 3. Today starts the 4th round of Run-a-go-go, Rachael‘s fabulous idea (and Scout‘s blog-tastic community building and Adam‘s funky programming skillz). Wanna go 100 miles between today and December 31st?

In perfect timing, Threadless.com printed a lil’ bit of inspiration today. Sadly, it’s sold out in a Men’s M, so it’s gonna have to be a large for me. It’ll match the new ‘do. Even sadlier, I didn’t get outside today.

Last year at Walzwerk‘s anniversary party, my car was totaled by a hit-and-run. Last night was their 8th anniversary party.

I was against driving to the evening. Superstitious, I guess. I even fought about it with C. As he pointed out, we’ve driven to the restaurant many times since then. But I finally decided to drive, as we picked up a friend. We didn’t park on the same street, and, this time, we were in the middle of a block.

This year, the rear passenger-side winder was smashed. What makes it more ironic, is that where we parked, C said, “It might get broken into here,” but we still left it there. Once in the restaurant, the owner Christiane asked if we rode our bikes. C told her we drove because lightening doesn’t strike the same place twice.

It did.

Only thing stolen: a bag of blue plastic New York Times newspaper bags, aka poopy bags for Janie Sparkles. I only wish they were full of poo.

I’m feeling pulled in may directions by my knitting. On the precipice of feeling scattered-brained and wanting to start three new projects. Torn between design, production, gifting and being selfish.

I have three active-ish socks, a truckload of yarn to photograph for Ravelry and re-organize by weight, new yarn sitting at work awaiting my first issue of IK that I’m buying tomorrow night, Cat’s new book (who’s two baby socks samples I’ve already knit) begging to be begun in earnest, the imminent arrival of BMFA sock club shipment, as well as Scout’s. And I still haven’t sent my sister her package of socks, Knitty Gritty half-done bag to finish, and her xmas presents.

On top of all that good friend at work is leaving to focus on his art career who deserves this (and for which I’ll have to buy a US3 circular. Dear friends (her blog, not his) just had their second son (BSJ in STR? need another circular US3). Luckily they are both easy knits, and only Brancusi 2.0 is competing for my immediate attention (about to start on the heel flap).

If anyone would like to win the lottery and sponsor my life so I can devote more time to knitting, I’d greatly appreciate it. Working 9-11 hours a day really cramps my style.

For the past two Sundays (as well as Monday the 16th), I’ve given up hours of my life for a friend of a friend’s art project. He’s making a feature-length movie for his MFA that has no dialogue, is shot in HD, and uses synchronized swimming both as content and metaphor. I don’t pretend to understand, I just look good in a swimsuit. (Or better than pasty art school kids who don’t know how to swim.)

A handful of us from the swim team are playing a swim team in the movie and we practice, walk, swim laps, perform and ignore the main characters. Pretty much true to life. It was fun the first day, as there were two elite-level swimmers from the Aquanuts. Monday night ran late, with just me swimming laps in the background. (Out past 12:30 on a school night, oh my!)

This past Sunday was supposed to be 8 hours of shooting, but my time at the pool was cut short. In practicing a lift, where we raise and then throw the main character (a non-synchro swimmer) out of the water, the guy came down on my head, snapping my chin into chest and neck down. When I realized it wasn’t a simple injury (and when no one came over to see if I was OK), I changed in the locker room and walked off the set. Every bump of the road hurt as I drove myself home.

Today, three days later, all that remains is the stiffness. I’ve recovered my range of motion, albeit slower and not “normal.” My mid-back still aches, probably from holding my shoulders up to protect and support my neck. There’s a dull ache at the base of my spine, but it’s not like the initial hurt. Tomorrow I’m seeing an accupuncturist to see if getting my Qi flowing helps. It’s my first time, but, hey, I work in Berkeley, so when in Rome… besides, I don’t want a chiropractor to adjust me, nor a body worker to squeeze and wring out the area, nor a “regular” doctor to tell me to rest.